Power strategy while dry camping

[ardeaitch]

We’re getting ready to head across the country for a camp hosting gig on the west coast with our 337. We’ll be dry camping a bit on the way, with strategic stops to recharge batteries and water. So, I’ve got a couple of questions:

- This may be a stupid one, but I don’t want to make any assumptions... Does the battery charge while the trailer is hooked to the tow vehicle?

- If so, does it make sense to keep the umbilical hooked to the tow vehicle running while the trailer is leveled and the slides are extended?

My hope is that I can extend my battery life a little bit if I’m correct in my assumption. It’ll be cheaper than a generator at this point, plus I won’t need to carry the extra weight.

Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Country Campers]

You would have to check the voltage coming from the umbilical cord to the RV. Some vehicles output more than others but all I have heard the output is not very much.
The slides use a lot of battery power , I try not to use the slides just on battery power. If the battery power is low I do not want to damage slide motors.
Also when the battery disconnect does not truly disconnect power from the entire rig , this will allow for parasitic draw on the battery and while the vehicle is hooked up the draw may be more than the charge coming from the vehicle.
I assume you will also be running fridge while traveling , this will use battery as well.
An extra battery and charger may be a cheaper beneficial route to take.

Brian

[CoChris]

- This May be a stupid one, but I don’t want to make any assumptions... Does the battery charge while the trailer is hooked to the tow vehicle?

Not stupid at all. I do not know about other brands, but the current Ford Super Duty (2017+) will disconnect the the +12v (charge) line when the engine is not running. It will charge the trailer battery some when your are towing. At least that is how mine works.

Chris

[ardeaitch]

Thanks for the info. This is helpful.
Ron

[ncitro]

On my 2019 F350 I have measured a little less than 10 amps going from the truck to the trailer while driving. The truck does disengage the charging wire when its not running.

[TucsonJim]

On my 2019 F350 I have measured a little less than 10 amps going from the truck to the trailer while driving. The truck does disengage the charging wire when its not running.

That's good to know. My guess is the average owner has about 90-100 amps of useable battery power available. If they are fully depleted when hooking up, they will charged back up to a decent level after driving for 6-8 hours. And if they have solar charging available while driving, they'll be in great shape upon arrival at their new campsite.

Jim

[ncitro]

That's good to know. My guess is the average owner has about 90-100 amps of useable battery power available. If they are fully depleted when hooking up, they will charged back up to a decent level after driving for 6-8 hours. And if they have solar charging available while driving, they'll be in great shape upon arrival at their new campsite.

Jim

A bit off topic here, but yeah, I run four golf cart batteries, and I found if I had the inverter running say a crock pot while driving it could not keep up. I went round and round with whether to upgrade the charging circuit in the truck or just bite the bullet and go solar. I decided the solar would be more useful and went that route.

Back on topic, I would think running the stock battery with no inverter 6-8 hours of driving should recharge it from a nights use with no issue.

[goducks14]

If you're just staying at dry spots and driving all day then I would and haven't worried about draining the batteries on a daily trip basis. If you're staying several days while dry camping the yeah the batteries will drain down some depending on what you use in the trailer.
Using two 6V GC batteries will slow the drain. Adding a solar panel will definitely help for longer dry camping days. I would use two batteries at a minimum 6V or 12V.
We've done exactly what your going to do. Mixing dry with elec/water camping. Never had any issues with battery drain. But we always had at least two batteries.
Two batteries will help you stayed longer until you can get to an elec site where you can recharge fully for the next dry trip.

[gordofuchs]

At the present time, we do not do much dry camping. I did, however, buy an extra 12 volt battery and set it up with it’s own ac charger that does not have any draw, but is maintained with a full charge. On one or two occasions where we had to dry camp camp and used up the primary battery charge, I was able to switch cables and continue on. The whole setup probably could be had for less than a hundred bucks. Another benefit is that if your tow vehicle has a dead battery, you can jump off of the backup battery.

[goducks14]

At the present time, we do not do much dry camping. I did, however, buy an extra 12 volt battery and set it up with it’s own ac charger that does not have any draw, but is maintained with a full charge. On one or two occasions where we had to dry camp camp and used up the primary battery charge, I was able to switch cables and continue on. The whole setup probably could be had for less than a hundred bucks. Another benefit is that if your tow vehicle has a dead battery, you can jump off of the backup battery.

Why not hook the batteries together? Then you probably would never need to swap one for the other. Both would charge fully when on elec.